Sapphire Night
by Nanaki BH
Summary: [RikuxSora, AxelxRoxas] Sora's playing with fire. Kairi discovers his affections for Riku and all is set ablaze. Little do they know, there are higher powers at work. [Ongoing, spoilers, shounenai.]
1. Born together

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

A sunset. It was incredible how something that had once seemed so common could strike them as being so absolutely beautiful. Perhaps they had become jaded; getting up with the sunrise every morning and going to sleep with the sunset each night. At some point, it's like you know it's there and you stop caring. They realized that must have been how it was because as soon as they returned home they practically worshipped that sun as though it was their God.

Before that sunset, when he was sure no one was looking, Sora had sunk into the sand and allowed himself to bask in its paling light. It was like his own personal time to be alone with it and enjoy it. He'd already had his time with the others. It was time to be with his island.

He folded his hands on his stomach and breathed a relieved sigh. The waves were beautiful like always. His eyes were closed; he didn't need to see them to know that they were the same as they were even years before he was born.

He felt complete, to say the least. The missing pieces of his most precious memories were put back in place; Riku, Kairi, the island, and all of the worlds beyond imagination he had visited in the years since he last saw the island. Perhaps, he thought, that time spent away wasn't as bad as he thought it was. He came back with a new appreciation and it had made all the difference. Or at least now they had something cool to talk about.

"It was like a really long summer vacation, huh?" he heard a voice call from across the beach. "It felt like we all moved away or something. I really missed you, you know."

Sora pushed himself up on his palms with some effort and gazed ahead at the backlit figure of Riku. He stood there on the shore, arms akimbo and staring off into the horizon. Sora didn't respond for a while, but Riku made no note of it. He seemed perfectly comfortable to stand there near him, even if he received no response. He was always like that, actually. Sora had found it odd at first, but he soon came to understand how Riku felt. It didn't matter to Riku if Sora paid him no mind. It wouldn't matter to him if he never even so much as acknowledged his existence. None of that mattered, so long as he could be near him and be a part of him.

"Sorry," he muttered after a while. He brought up his knees to rest his chin atop of them, sand shifting with his weight. It made him feel horrible, really, leaving Riku behind that door, but there felt to be something companionable between them still.

"You've nothing to be sorry for," he said and began walking back up the beach to where Sora sat. How Sora hadn't heard him join him by the shore in the first place, he wasn't certain; especially with the large shoes Riku wore. Despite Riku's reassurance, he still felt that he owed him a bit of his time so he allowed himself to stay.

"I guess… you're right," Sora said quietly. His voice was soft and lost to the wind.

His friend still stood, watching him from above, shadow casting itself over the younger boy. "You guess, huh? That's no way to be, Sora!" He laughed, forced and fake. "I'm breaking my ass over here to be cheerful for you. I'm the one that should feel bad."

"Why's that?" Sora asked, tilting his head up to look at him imploringly.

"_Why?_ That's brilliant, Sora!" His voice, though laced with humor, was still sad and broken. "Don't you remember what I did? I turned my back on you; acted like you were a bad friend. How can you be like that?" He paused. "You act like I never even did anything." He sat down beside him and assumed a position similar to Sora's previous one' arms hugging his knees.

_But you didn't do anything, _Sora thought. _I know you were lonely._

Indeed, Sora had seen him in nights passed, standing by the shoreline, as though he was waiting for something. He often made mention to other worlds but Sora reasoned it to be an obsession with fantasy. Never had he realized that Riku was _waiting _for the worlds to come to _him._ He just wanted someone to notice him.

"Riku," he said, "why didn't you just tell me you liked me?"

Sure, he was assuming things. There was no guarantee that he was right, but Riku had always been, without a doubt, vying for his attention.

Riku sighed, finally loosening up. "Well, don't get me wrong. It's not like I thought you'd hate me or something. I just thought that you wouldn't understand it. Or…" He brushed a hand nervously through his hair. "There are a lot of things, really. I guess that one just stands out."

"What are you so worried about, Riku? You saw; back when we were in the darkness. There are other worlds out there, places that we could make our own. It wouldn't matter what anybody else would think, because you… You should have _known _that's what I've wanted." Somehow, in the dimming light, he found one of his friend's hands and laced their fingers together.

"S-sora," he uttered breathlessly. He was grateful for the coming night, as a blush was quickly climbing to his cheeks. Tentatively, he squeezed his hand back and remained silent.

"We may not have the Gummi Ship, but this world is a big place too, you know. We've got the islands and the mainland and all of the other places here that we haven't even heard about yet! Come on, it's exciting, right?"

"I don't need exciting, I've had enough of exciting. Dreaming big got me in a whole lot of trouble last time."

Sora was taken aback by Riku's sudden about-face in opinion. He'd spent years listening to his wishful talk and there he was, giving it up all of a sudden. At least one _little_ adventure, Riku, come on! Show yourself that you aren't afraid of anything!" He tore away his hand and thrust it enthusiastically in the air.

At the unexpected loss of contact, Riku's face faltered but Sora never saw it. "But… what about Kairi?" he asked.

"Who says we have to take Kairi anywhere?"

"Sora! You're the only one here talking about going places. I'm scared of walking back home with you even. How can you not be worried…? A guy just said he likes you." Riku's shame-filled words brought a stinging reminder back to Sora.

A soft, drawn-out sigh passed Sora's lips. "Oh," he said quietly, almost to himself, "Kairi." He hadn't even thought about it. He'd just been so overjoyed to hear that Riku's supposed affections were true. Kairi, of all the people they knew, would care the most; more than Sora, even, but in a different way. Her own affections seemed more real than Riku's and he'd been trying everything to get her off his case without breaking her heart.

"She might hate us if she finds out. We're everything to her," Riku said, lost in worried thought.

Sora wasn't a quiet person though, and he was sure he knew what Riku was thinking. When he was happy, he wanted the entire world to hear about it and Riku was bound to suggest keeping it quiet. "I know what you want to do," he told him, "and I'm not going to do it. I think it's best if we just tell her. It'll save us all a lot of grief." Pushing himself up by his knees, he grabbed Riku's hand and tugged him into standing. "How about telling her now?"

"Are you crazy, Sora?" he cried desperately, as he was dragged through the sand. "That's a bad idea! A _really_ bad idea! We can't tell her that now, Sora!"

From away from the beach came a somewhat curious, if not agitated voice. "Tell me _what?_" Sora involuntarily dropped Riku's hand and stared ahead in horror at the darkened silhouette of Kairi. She may have been a foot shorter than him, but with her hands on her hips and her foot tapping like that, she appeared more than intimidating.

Riku's supposed suggestion was beginning to sound very appealing. Through the dark, he could make out a devilish gleam in her eyes and Sora certainly didn't want to face her like that. What were they going to tell her? How much had she even seen? The possibilities scared him. Looking at her face, he got the feeling she wouldn't be quite as accepting as he'd hoped.

So he decided to play opossum. Faking worked for the rest of the animal kingdom, so why couldn't it work for Sora? He put a hand behind his head and laughed good naturedly. He had to hope she was stupid enough if he was to expect her to fall for such a fake laugh, though. He could already sense Riku tensing up behind him.

"We were just… um… talking about a party! It's been so long since we've been home, right? Everybody's missed us, so a party would be great. We were going to ask you upfront so you could help us!" It was a quick and rather convincing lie if Sora had ever heard one. But as the saying goes, how can you expect others to believe you if you don't believe yourself?

He hoped that wouldn't be the case, because if it was then he would be completely and hopelessly stuck in a grave he would have trouble getting out of. Unfortunately, that grave was getting dug and fast.

"I don't believe you," she said, her voice dropping. Sora's heard sunk. He looked behind himself quickly to make sure Riku hadn't fainted yet. "Sora, don't you remember that one time…?" She pointed to the paupu tree off in the distance. "I think it was over there. I told you that you should just be yourself, to never change. Obviously, you have."

She turned around so he wouldn't see her tears.

"The Sora I knew would have never lied to me."

He couldn't stop her when she started running away. His limbs suddenly weren't strong enough to reach out and hold her still. His voice failed him and fled just when he needed it the most to tell her to stop. _Just wait a second! _he wanted to yell.

He had done nothing more than follow her request; to be himself and never change. Why did he have to lie?

"Sora." Riku put a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "Don't worry just yet, Sora. You don't know exactly what she heard yet."

He wrenched himself away, balling his fists. "Do you think she acted like that for no reason? She saw something for sure." His eyes wouldn't leave the retreating Kairi, even when she had gone completely; disappeared into their secret place. The crickets of the night played the soundtrack to their unfortunate parting. To Sora, their chirps sounded like nothing less than laughter.

Despite Riku's immediate objections, he began to follow her footsteps up the beach. It was about then that Sora realized what a coward his friend had become. Even if you looked, talked, and fought just like Ansem's Heartless, that didn't mean you were as brave or as audacious as him.

Not one step. Riku didn't even take one step to stop him from talking to her.

Although at first that made him seem cowardly, as he wasn't joining him, Sora realized that he was in fact displaying some of the toughest bravery and self-restraint he'd ever seen.

Riku wanted him to tell her because he couldn't do it himself. Stopping Sora would have meant keeping them a secret and he had decided to let Sora walk on.

He grinned a little, feeling almost proud of Riku after the realization. "I've got this taken care of," he called over his shoulder. "If you need me, you know where I'll be."

_Yeah,_ Riku thought sadly, putting a hand to his heart. _With Kairi in your secret place. Just like always. Never with me._

The sand sunk beneath his shoes with every step he made on his run to their secret place. He was far from it, but his feet knew where to take him like they had been designed to do so. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and remembered how things used to be. Behind his eyelids it was sunny, the beach was white, and the gulls called overhead. In his hand, the wooden sword he always fought Riku with when they played. A small laugh escaped him when he noticed that not much had changed.

When he opened his eyes, things felt the same again. It was dark, the moon the only light on the sand, and the seagulls rested in their nests. He was older, braver, and he knew that the Keyblade would return to his commanding hands whenever he called for it to come.

He was the Keybearer for a reason; to protect the ones he loved at all costs. And even if he wasn't using it to free hearts, he'd learned a sort of compassion from its steel that was indispensable.

Through his travels, he'd made amends with some of the most unlikely folks; people he'd never even met before in his life. Making friends and maintaining friendships had been what Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all about and he wasn't about to lose a friend over something so trivial.

Sora stopped just short of the waterfall, slightly winded. He glanced back at the beach once more where he'd left Riku and found him strangely missing. He scratched his head and shrugged, reasoning that it was best that he'd left. Sora had no idea how long it would take for him to get Kairi to come out, after all.

He started forward once more and stopped just short of the cave's mouth. Reverently, he touched the vines that colored the walls. As he brushed his fingers against the one leaf's smooth surface and breathed in the familiar scent of the waterfall, memories of his younger self invaded his mind again. His heart filled with the excitement he'd always felt whenever he knew that Kairi was waiting for him inside.

Shaking himself from the momentary reverie, he pushed aside the veil of leaves and vines and entered the cave. It was a short walk from the entrance of the cave to its inner sanctum, but the way there was completely blind in the dark. He found himself groping the damp walls, the cloth of his gloves becoming soaked with the water that constantly dripped down from the cracks.

When he found Kairi, she was sitting at the far right wall of the circular room, a small lamp burning at her side. His heart broke upon seeing her. One of her delicate hands reached out and touched their cave drawing, her fingers lingering on the paupu fruit between them.

"Sora. Did you ever really want to eat the paupu fruit with me?" Her voice was soft and lilting when she spoke. He hated seeing her so sad.

Now, as legend states, if two people share the fruit, their destinies will become entwined. Although one could say that it's "cute" and perfect for "best friends", the legend had been warped into a much more romantic connotation. If Sora were to ask someone to eat one with him, that would be asking them to make a big commitment.

"Not really," he said, "but it's not because I didn't like you." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, biting his lip. "When you first came to the islands, Riku and I both tried to be your best friend. We were always really competitive, so it was like we ended up fighting for your attention. We both love you very much, Kairi, but I think we've been giving you the wrong impression somehow."

"_Somehow?_" she cried. Her voice was loud, agitated, but she stayed sitting. "What's a girl supposed to expect when she's got two boys fighting for her attention?"

Sora lowered his head, realizing that sometimes he just wasn't good with words. Whereas he had intended to explain their predicament, he was only making things worse. Steeling his nerves, he turned to her and grabbed her wrist. She was surprised initially, even tried to get him off. He pushed her palm flushed against the drawing of the fruit and covered her hand with his own.

"Kairi," he muttered; voice soft yet commanding. "We are… nakama. We three share one destiny, as proven by Kingdom Hearts. You are the seventh princess and so we will treat you as such. If we've ever done _anything _to make you…"

"No," she insisted. "You've never… done anything, Sora. I just wish you hadn't left."

"We did what we had to. We left you back on the islands so you would be safe. I would have wanted it no other way. There's no way you could have joined me in Castle Oblivion."

"Why's that? Because I'm a girl?"

"Not because of that."

"Then because I don't have a Keyblade? Is that why Riku's so important to you?"

She was making him want to scream. He knew for a fact, as he had seen it himself, that she could wield a Keyblade just as well as Riku or himself. He wasn't discriminating against her in the least. It sounded as though she was searching for things to explain his attraction to their best friend.

Back in The World That Never Was, when she threw her arms around him, he returned her embrace because he had very honestly missed her. When he saw Riku's, no, Ansem's face and touched his hand… he understood what he'd really been missing. He fell on his knees and cried, he was so overjoyed to see him again. So Kairi, he supposed, had some reason to feel neglected.

But she was the one who put their hands together, as if she had known. She was the one who reunited them. He firmly decided that she had no place to talk.

"I don't think you realize just how important you are, Kairi. Shouldn't it be enough for you to know that you're wanted; that you're appreciated?"

"I think I'm going home now," she said solemnly. Her hand remained beneath his for a little longer before she slid it down the slick wall, spreading wet moss and dirt over their drawing. She didn't have to leave, Sora knew. Kairi's parents knew where she was, most likely.

Soon, he felt awful; like he'd accomplished absolutely nothing at all. When she stood, clapping the dirt from her hands, he didn't bother to get up. He didn't follow her. Instead, he stayed there just a little bit longer to make sure she understood.

He fixed their picture.

Author's Notes: This entire thing is being made for an English project. It's supposed to be 28ish pages typed when it's finished, so there's still a lot more. Feel free to offer suggestions in regard to the plotline, because I may eventually run into a veritable wall. I hope you've enjoyed it thus far. Can't wait to see what he's done to the drawing, right? Feedback is appreciated!


	2. On a sapphire night

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

The only light left on the island came from the mainland. There were some streetlights and torches on the shore, serving as beacons for the mainland. When Sora reached their small, makeshift dock, he could just vaguely make out the shape of Kairi's boat, a lantern burning beside her. _She should have been farther than that, _he thought, realizing that she was only halfway there. Riku's boat was gone and he had to assume he was already safely home.

The rope that tied his boat to the shore was loosened and he stepped inside. For a few seconds, he had to rummage around in search of the matches that would light the lamp he kept. Triumphantly, he procured them from a distant corner and was able to throw the rope up onto the dock and be on his way. With one short, forceful push from his oar, he got himself moving.

Once he got himself close enough to the mainland, he stopped rowing and lay down in the boat, his fingers linking together at the back of his neck. Their happiness was temporary, he'd come to believe. It was there and gone within a matter of short-lived hours. His happiness depended on the happiness of his friends and neither of them was looking particularly happy as of late.

Kairi's typical smile was gone as soon as she found out that he was in love with Riku.

Sora ran a hand over his face and threw one leg over the other. He brought his hands up to his stomach and released a weary sigh. The only comfort his beaten soul had was the gentle waves that beat against the boat.

Without even realizing it, he fell asleep.

His slumber was soon disturbed though. He shot up, feeling as though something was amiss. The boat was moving on its own? No. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head and when he opened his eyes again, before him sat Riku with the oars in hand.

"Do I even have to ask why you're wet?" Sora asked with a chuckle.

"Rhetorical," Riku replied blandly. "But I was waiting for you, you know. I saw your boat out here and I knew you stopped rowing, so it wouldn't have been very cool if I let you just sit out here drifting." Sora couldn't see Riku's face, but from the sound of his voice, he knew he wasn't angry at him.

The weight on his heart lessened.

It was quiet, they were almost home, but no one was around. Everybody was asleep in their beds. Abandoning his inhibitions, Sora leaned forward and wrapped his arms about Riku's waist. He continued rowing, unbothered, and Sora's heart skipped a beat. He felt… indescribable. He was just so glad that Riku had returned to him safely.

Their boat ride continued that way; Sora contented to keep his arms around Riku and Riku satisfied to simply be held. As their arrival became imminent, Riku let out an exhausted, or perhaps, disappointed sigh. It drew Sora's attention and he picked his head up off Riku's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

Riku slowed in his rowing, setting the oats on the edges of the boat. He leaned back slowly in Sora's embrace and closed his eyes once he was situated comfortably. "I'm just a little worried," he replied. It wasn't hard for Sora to understand why. He had realized, yes, that he wasn't angry at him… but he'd completely forgotten to ask…

"You saw Kairi when she came back, didn't you? What'd she say?"

"She didn't say anything."

It was a simple, quick answer and it put Sora off. He had no trouble picturing Kairi in his head, stalking up from the dock and sending evil glares in Riku's direction. At first, it made him angry. Just imagining the cruel look she must have given him made his blood boil. _She has no reason to be made at us,_ he thought.

"I can't believe the way she's acting about this," Sora scoffed hotly. "What'd we ever do to her?"

"Nothing," Riku answered, faster than Sora expected, practically cutting off the end of his sentence. "We've done nothing to her, but she's never done anything to us. But, Sora," he said, picking up the oars again, "while it seems that none of us have done anything wrong, you still have to be sensitive. Sensitivity is something you're sometimes distinctly lacking." The laugh he gave threw it off as a joke, leaving at least a little bit of Sora's pride intact.

His eyes softened. "I… guess you're right. But, Riku, what are we supposed to do?" His voice cracked toward the end; his concern apparent.

Riku's rowing continued, unabated, the rise and fall just as slow and steady as when he'd first picked them up. As the waves came one after another against their boat, Sora got the feeling Riku wasn't going to answer. He wasn't the kind to say "I don't know" or just offer up an answer in fear of being wrong.

"Sometimes things work themselves out." The response was unexpected and Sora's ears perked up when he'd spoken so suddenly.

A smile stretched across his face. It was odd for him to say something so reassuring; he loved it.

They reached the dock at long last and Riku hopped out first, roping the boat to the dock. If possible, their destination was even quieter than the island. It was because of a sort of mutual respect, he supposed, between the people and the place where they resided. The familiar sound of the crickets and waves remained and there were only a few, soft sounds from the subtle movements his friend made as he secured their ride.

"Let's go," Riku said, holding out his hand for Sora to take. It was the most familiar feeling when he took his hand. He remembered the night before, on the brink of darkness, when he put an arm around his friend's waist and helped him down to the shoreline. He laced their fingers together and gently stroked the center of his palm, eliciting quiet sighs from Riku.

"How's your leg?"

"Bearable."

A light tug urged Sora forward; an attempt at proving his well-being, perhaps. Riku's slight limp wasn't very convincing though. Not that it mattered, at least, not when Riku wasn't complaining. As they walked along, side by side, Sora couldn't help feeling concerned.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Sora asked, stopping. He pulled gently at his hand and brought them closer together. Riku closed the space between them and rested his chin on top of Sora's head.

"Thanks, Sora," he said, voice lost against the wind. "But I'll be fine. But thank you. Really, you… don't know how much I appreciate your kindness."

How Kairi could find something so positively sweet and kind to be infuriating, Sora could not fathom. It was late though anyway, so he couldn't even bring himself to think about that situation again. Instead, he released his fingers from Riku's loose grasp and brought his arms up to encircle his waist, holding him tightly.

"We can't fall asleep out here, you know," Riku reminded Sora, noting his hooded eyes.

"I know."

That was an assent that that didn't go very far. Eventually, one thing led to another and they found themselves lying on their backs in the soft sand, staring up at the heavens. As time passed and as it got later and later, it progressively got colder as well. Sora muttered a sorry excuse for an apology and wound up huddled at Riku's side from warmth.

At the sound of one very long, tired yawn, Sora cracked open an eye. He shuffled around, as he would usually if he was in bed, and noticed that his pants had collected quite a bit of sand. He tilted his head back and looked out across the water, disappointed to see the rising sun. Without him even realizing it, he'd fallen asleep beside Riku.

He looked down at Riku and ran a hand through his messy silver hair. "Were you awake all this time?" he asked.

Riku replied with an unintelligible mumble and crawled closer to him, wrapping an arm around one of Sora's legs. Sora quickly had the offending arm removed though and stood, shaking the sand from his clothing. Riku coughed and sputtered, shutting his eyes tightly to keep the sand away.

"Not very much of a morning person, are you?" Sora asked, standing above him with one hand casually resting on his hip, a delighted smile on his face. "But I guess it's not every day that you fall sleep outside, is it?"

As he dragged a tired hand over his face, Sora took the initiative and grabbed him under his arms and hoisted him into a standing position. When Riku lost his footing and almost ended up falling, Sora caught him and held him still until he regained his balance. It took a few moments for him to wake up, but when he opened his eyes and looked down at Sora, he knew he had his full, conscious attention.

He asked him where they should go and what they should do and it was mutually agreed that they had to go back to their respective houses and clean up, get new clothes, and catch some breakfast. Their path back to their homes was pink-lit by the dawn sun. There were few people outside at such an early time; most of them either watering their lawns or picking up the morning papers. Both of them were shocked when they wandered into their houses and found that their parents were comfortably asleep as though they hadn't worried about where their kids were at all.

But once they completed their temporary objectives, they met each other outside again. They hadn't even discussed where they would meet, but they both somehow knew where to find the other.

"So what'd you tell your mom, Sora?" Riku asked, lazily linking his fingers behind his neck.

Sora sighed soulfully, eyes lowering to the dirt road. His answer could have been one of two things, predictably. First, it could have always been, "I told her all about us and Kairi and the Kingdom and the adventures…" but Riku knew his mom would never buy it – save for the gay part because that would be infinitely more worrying than his entire, dangerous journey. There was always the possibility that he didn't tell her anything and that's how things were looking.

He kicked up a cloud of dirt. "I didn't tell her much," he stated simply.

"And, of course, Sora, 'didn't tell her much' means that you didn't tell her anything, did you?"

Sora kept his mouth shut.

He clapped him lightly on the shoulder and then took his hand, wheeling him around to face the opposite direction. They would be going to Kairi's house, he told him, if only to get her back on the island with them. Things just wouldn't be the same without her.

As fate would have it, though, she wasn't home. When they knocked on her front door, her mom answered, drying her hands on a towel as though she had ran from the kitchen to answer it. To their dismay, they were informed that she had already set off for the island. Sora and Riku shared a similar surprised look and ran off again toward the beach.

When they got there, Kairi's boat was indeed missing and she was no where to be seen. Riku wasted no time in untying their boat and got in, offering Sora a hand. It was only a matter of minutes from shore to shore. During their ride, Sora made sure to voice his concern. When he'd gone back the previous night, he tried to ease Kairi from his mind and coincidentally, almost forgot about their bothersome situation all together. Everything felt to be the way he left it. The only strange, noticeable difference was the fact that none of their parents even knew that they were missing after Destiny Islands was swept into the darkness. It felt odd though, suddenly being unable to talk to Kairi about anything that had happened.

He just felt bad, was all. It didn't matter _why_ he wanted to talk to her or _what_ they would talk about. He just wanted to talk to her. He just wanted her to stop acting like she was, but he got the feeling that wouldn't be happening so easily.

Riku did the rowing and he faithfully listened to everything Sora had to say, as usual. He was starting to feel guilty himself after hearing how worried Sora was. Perhaps he was just very confident, but he had the feeling that everything would be okay in the end. After all, _sometimes things work themselves out, _right?

As they drew closer to the beach, they spotted Kairi's boat first. Sora excitedly jumped up in the boat, placing his palms on Riku's head so he could boost himself up a little bit to see. Needless to say, Riku soon had him batted away and smoothed down his hair again with a light frown.

"Where do you think she's at?" He was still shifting around a lot in the boat and it was beginning to make it difficult for Riku to row properly; his oars flopping around haphazardly in the water.

He elbowed his squirming friend gently in the ribs to keep him from moving around so much. "How am I supposed to know? I can't see anything from down here. Just… sit so I can row, okay?"

Sora sighed and sunk into the back of the rowboat, bringing his legs up a little so he could lie back comfortably without kicking Riku. It was only a little ways before they got there, but Sora couldn't wait. For some unexplainable reason, he was excited. He couldn't wait to find her and shake some sense into her so they could keep having fun.

In his boredom, he sat back and began to hum. Riku, oddly enough, wasn't bothered by it.

His rowing matched the rhythm of Sora's humming and he soon found himself to be enjoying its slow, gentle tune. It was a familiar, yet entirely unfamiliar song. He made the mental note to ask Sora what song it was later, after things patched themselves up.

Before the boat even met the dock, Sora jumped out into the water and swam the rest of the way to the dock. "What do you think you're doing?" Riku yelled after him.

Like a dolphin, Sora poked his head up out of the water, the ends of each spiky point on his head dripping with water. When he shook his head to clear his visage, droplets of water flew and joined their oceanic mother. Flippantly, Sora offered his friend a grin and a thumbs-up. "I'm going ahead because you're slow." Sora was lucky Riku didn't throw an oar at him. "I want to find her first, okay?"

Riku could only heave a sigh and shake his head. If Sora was going to go back to acting like always, like he assumed he was, then he wouldn't be hard to find at all. Kairi was a different story. He hoped that Sora wouldn't mind if he joined him, though. Hopefully, Sora hadn't forgotten about their "competition" for Kairi's friendship, after all.

The sand gave way to Sora's feet as he ran onto the beach, as though he had been running the whole way through the water to start with. For a couple seconds, he doubled over, hands on his knees, and allowed himself to catch his breath. The beach, as far as he could see, was given a quick once-over before he ran up the wooden deck to the greener portion of the island above.

_Where could she be?_ Sora thought to himself. _I might have to think like Kairi if I'm going to find her. The island's way too big and I could run around it five times without ever finding her! _There were only a few places look that came to mind. There was the shed, the shoreline perimeter, or the secret place.

Something told Sora he knew where she was.

Author's Note: While I was writing that chapter, I didn't like it much for some reason. When I read over it to check it, I ended up liking it a whole lot more than the first chapter. Well, I hope _you_ enjoyed it. Feedback is always appreciated. (And I bet you love how I haven't given away the cave drawing just yet!)


	3. The world is ours

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

Just as the vines and leaves were pushed aside at the mouth of the cave, out ran a very distraught Kairi who, coincidentally, crashed head first into Sora, the person she wanted to see the least. He grabbed her by the shoulders and helped her steady herself. Instead of being grateful for his assistance, she beat at his chest with her fists, yelling at him incoherently.

Sora was surprised enough to be seeing her all together. Kairi's sudden, frenetic behavior was only just surprising him (and confusing him) further. "What's wrong? What happened?" he asked, holding her still.

She struggled, tears falling from her delicate cheeks. "You changed it," she gasped, choking on a sob. "Why did you… why did you have to…?" The pounding on his chest slowed to an eventual stop. Her tears did not, though. All Sora could do was hold her. He tenderly wrapped his arms about her shoulders and placed one of his hands at the back of her head, stroking her red hair gently. It was heartbreakingly familiar.

_Sometimes things work themselves out._

Perhaps. In order for those things to "work themselves out", though, all three of them had to realize a particularly difficult lesson: none of them could exist happily without the others. Riku needed Sora, Sora needed Riku, Kairi needed them both, and they both needed her. As Sora leaned against the damp cave wall, he allowed her the time to relax in his hold. She hiccupped and wiped her tears, stepping back, out of his loose embrace.

For the first time in a long time, it felt, she looked up at him into his eyes; gazing into their sincere depths. A sob wrenched its way passed her lips again and she covered her mouth with her hands. In his eyes, it was as though she had seen the truth that she had been ignoring. After she had convinced herself into hating them, she found it impossible suddenly. There was undeniable, insurmountable love in his eyes and she cursed herself for ignoring them.

Reluctantly, she reached forward and took his hand into one of her own small hands. At the same time, driven by the same thought, they started walking into the cave. She let the tears come freely, letting them wash away her anger and ignorance, finally understanding the meaning of the warm hand in her own. She closed her eyes briefly and she was young again; the new girl on the island being led to a secret place by a kind boy she just met. Opening her eyes, she found that her feet and her trust had led her back to the fondest memory they shared.

Her eyes which had betrayed her now saw the truth. The picture may have looked a little bit different but it reflected what she really held as true. She affectionately ran her fingers over the picture of Riku, down to the paupu that connected the three of them. _Sora did a good job_, she thought, smiling.

_This is the way it should be._

"I'm sorry," she said solemnly, folding her hands in her lap.

Sora sat back, linking his feet at the ankles. He silently stared ahead at the cave wall for a while before he muttered quietly, "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Why?" she asked.

For the many reasons he had thought of the previous night. Specifically, he felt like he was leading her on. He had accepted all of her advances with open arms. Figuratively speaking, it was like he had made and accepted a lie with open arms; bringing it to life in a way that even he began to believe it. As far as Sora was concerned, there was nothing worse than living a lie.

He looked away, hiding his eyes. "I've been lying to you, haven't I?"

He wasn't sure what to expect from her anymore. She'd seemingly gone from a raging, fire-spitting demon to being this kind-hearted, understanding girl. When he lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, he immediately realized his folly. Her eyes, the true reflection of her inner-thinking, had never changed. All she had ever done was what anyone else would have done.

"That doesn't mean I have to stop loving you, does it?"

Sora hopped to his feet, heart and mind rejoicing after the stunning realization. Her words left his ears buzzing in a giddy sort of way. He wanted to grab her and hug her or dance with her or something. He wanted to cry, he wanted to laugh at himself. He wanted her to laugh at him, too.

He wanted to run outside and shout and tell everybody how stupid he had been. The world had to know how dumb he was for not understanding something so incredibly simple; that he had hurt his friend and it would make her angry.

But that was just it – that was the point he had somehow managed to miss. Somewhere, deep down inside of him, he might have known, he might have realized. It would have, and had done him no good if he couldn't see it, though. She was his _friend_. If she had ever had the guts to call herself his friend, he should have understood that she wouldn't give up on him so easily.

She just looked up at him, an easy, happy smile shining through her glistening, teary eyes. "That's it, Sora," she said. "That's the Sora I know and love." She reached out her hand, silently asking for him to help her up. As soon as she was up, she threw her arms around him.

"Sora, it seems like you're the only one beating you up. You have the wildest imagination I've ever seen, you know that?"

He laughed embarrassedly, a light blush spreading across his pale cheeks. He rubbed the back of his neck and let his eyes wander over to the opening of the cave. "R-right. I think we should go back now," he said, as though he wanted to avoid any further possible shame. "Riku's probably been sitting out there going out of his mind without us."

"That's right," she mused, tapping her bottom lip curiously. "I wonder what he would ever do without the two of us. He's such a quiet guy by nature. If we weren't around him all the time, people would probably find him… What's the word I'm looking for…?"

"Dull?" Sora offered.

"Not _dull_, necessarily, just… _tired_, I think is the word I'm looking for. You're sky and he's land. You compliment each other. The beach," she murmured, looking away, "is only somewhere in between."

Sora always hated seeing Kairi acting serious. It worried him – frightened him sometimes, even, and that's the way she was acting. First and natural instinct told Sora that he should try to lighten the mood, but there was no guarantee that his humor would be well-received. He lowered his head the same way she had and started down at the ground. It wasn't very interesting. Grey, he thought, was a very boring color.

"Kairi," he said, breaking their sudden silence. It was unintentional, actually. Her name had just slipped so naturally from his lips. "Things can… sometimes… work themselves out."

He had her attention; that was for sure.

She looked up at him through her bright red bangs, tear-glazed eyes staring deep into Sora's. He wanted so badly to reassure her because he still wasn't feeling like much of a friend. "I'm sorry" and "Please forgive me" were empty, pointless, meaningless. He had to find something to say that would mean something to her.

"Well you see, what I'm saying is, if I'm the sky, Riku's the land, and you're the beach… then doesn't that just mean that we'll always be together?"

She laughed lightly; a reaction he wasn't exactly expecting. "You're always looking up. For a second there, I was thinking that Kaze would have been a better name for a drifter such as yourself, but with an outlook like that, Sora is absolutely perfect."

"Kaze sounds badass!" He grinned.

"That's my point." The grin fell. Gently, she poked him on the forehead, delighting in his somewhat bewildered expression.

He rubbed at his forehead with the back of his hand, frowning at his friend. "Geez, if I had known you would be this rough with me, I might have never come back."

_Don't joke like that, Sora! _he warned himself.

"Speaking of which," she said.

_Too late, you idiot._

"You've got to promise that you'll never leave me behind again, okay? I'm old enough to make my own decisions, _mom_. If you're going to go sneaking off to some far-off place again, just be sure to give me a shout before you do, okay?"

He didn't expect that. To be truthful, it was a promise he could easily make; that's what made it odd. Hey, he figured, if it made her happy… (Although there was no guarantee that he could always keep that promise. He didn't even want to think about that though. If he were to go against that promise, he would have to deal with a repeat of some recent, unfavorable events and he didn't quite want that to happen.)

"I… guess I could promise you that," he said slowly, stumbling over his words.

Kairi huffed, settling her hands commandingly upon her hips. "You _guess_, Sora?" That sounded familiar to Sora, for some reason… Like something Riku had said to him.

_Geez_, he thought, _now I've got both of them angry at me for being indecisive!_

"I promise! I promise!" he assured her, waving his hands up and down at her. If she hadn't been so insistent, they would have already been out of the cave. He started to worry that Riku was out there getting _very_ bored. There wasn't much to do by oneself alone on the island without one's friends.

Sora sighed exasperatedly. "I have to tell you though; I can't make promises for Riku. Whatever he does from now is his decision – no dark forces involved," he reminded her. "So," he turned on his heel and began walking to the exit of the cave, "you can go ask him for yourself."

Noticing that he wasn't going to stop walking, she shouted after him. "Hey, Sora! Wait for me, will you?"

The vines pushed aside, Sora stepped into the sand and was instantly surrounded by the light of the afternoon sun. He took in a deep breath, feeling the clean island air expand his chest. He waited then, holding it in, reveling in its familiarity. His peaceful moment was disrupted with a slug from the back when Kairi came bolting out of the cave, slamming right into him from behind.

The air was unexpectedly knocked from his lungs and he flew forward into the sand. Kairi instantly began apologizing. Apparently, in the dark she got scared and started running until she saw some light at the end. "It was really creepy!" she tried to explain desperately. "I'm really sorry, Sora!"

Sora sat up weakly and spat out an entire mouthful of salty-tasting sand. He gave her a pitifully half-assed glare and gave his head a tired shake, sand comically shaking out of his hair in the process. "Whatever," he muttered. He swung his feet out from under himself and jumped up. His eyes scanned the horizon, smiling to himself as he watched the waves rise and fall. The more he looked around, he came to realize that Riku was no where in sight. He rubbed the back of his neck curiously, absent-mindedly rolling some of the remaining sand in between his teeth. "I don't seem him out there," he said.

Kairi ran ahead of him, jumping off one of the small ledges and down the wooden decks. "I think I see his boat from here," she called, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun, the other pointing in the way of the dock. Sora caught up to her just when she let out a gasp. Whether it was an excited or shocked gasp, Sora wasn't sure. Either way, his eyes ended up following hers across the beach to where they rested on a figure laying in the sand.

"Riku!" she shouted. Sora knew he couldn't hear her. Even though they were so far away, he could tell that Riku was laying face down in the sand. It was probably as he had thought before; Riku got bored waiting for them, he was tired, the sun was irritating him – he fell asleep on the beach. Kairi was going to get over there and wake up one very pissed off Riku.

When she got down next to him though, she started shaking him by the shoulders. "Kairi, you better not shake him like that," he warned her. She kept on shaking him though. It looked like she was saying something but he was too far away to hear a word of what she was saying to him.

Sora started to worry.

Something was wrong.

He yelled for Kairi but she didn't answer him. His feet couldn't carry him fast enough. He slid in the loose sand and collapsed on his knees by their sides. His eyes were drawn to the deep, bleeding gash on Riku's left cheek and he immediately began looking him over for more injuries. His mind swam with questions. _What happened? Was he being careless? Did somebody do this to him?_

"Riku… Sora… He's not waking up."

Sora was quick to check his pulse and was soon to reassure his distressed friend. "He's fine. It's steady." Carefully, he picked up his head and rested it in his lap, leaning over him to keep the sun away from his face.

"Riku… What'd you do?"

Author's Notes: Hello and welcome to a horribly aggravating cliffhanger. Three chapters filled the length requirement for my English project, so technically, this story is finished. But, if popular demand requests it, I'll continue… seeing as how I have a manageable idea anyway that might end up satisfying some people. So if you want another chapter, be sure to leave some feedback – maybe even some ideas.


	4. To hold and keep

Disclaimer: _Kingdom Hearts_ and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

After finding Riku passed out like that on the beach, it felt like some sort of eerie, disconcerting feeling settled in on the island. Kairi wasn't willing to stay at all in fear of something else bad happening. They didn't know what it was, or what happened to Riku, but there was certainly something about that moment that told them they had to get as far away as they could. Perhaps it was just good sense; the instinct that humans seemed to have evolved _out of_. So they unroped one of the rowboats, situated Riku comfortably in the back, and started rowing.

Kairi worried about everything on there way back to the mainland. Every little impossible thing that crossed her mind found its way to her mouth and Sora had to remind her every time that it could have just been an accident and they were blowing it out of proportion. Sora wasn't convincing himself much, but it was the only thought that could slow his rapidly beating heart. He figured they were just so strung out from finally talking things over that they were going overboard and that nothing was there to even analyze.

Not once on there way back did Riku's eyelashes even flutter. He remained in a sort of shocked state, like a really deep, worrying sleep. Sleep was great and good, but they had reason to worry after they realized he wouldn't wake up, even after some repeated shaking. Every now and then, Sora would slow his rowing and look back at Kairi. Each time, she looked the same; hunched over Riku with a thoroughly troubled expression on her face, like she was about to cry or something. She looked like she wanted to help him or keep shaking him, convinced that she could wake him up.

They had gone over the possibilities again and again, but Sora couldn't imagine it to be an accident. There was no way he could have hit himself; there wasn't anything to hurt himself _with_ to begin with. There weren't any animals besides birds and small critters on the island, so nothing big could have gotten to him to create the gash on his face… but it was a pretty big cut, like from a claw or a blade.

That's what worried Sora the most. Nobody else went out to the island; nobody they knew of, at least. For someone to come to the island, hurt Riku, and leave just before he and Kairi came out of the cave seemed impossible. Things were starting to look more and more like a ridiculous game of Clue.

And Riku was a strong, self-sufficient person. He was better at defending himself and taking care of himself than Sora was, even.

For something to have hurt him and rendered him _that_ helpless… Sora thought it was the most impossible thing he had ever thought of. But what else could have happened?

They got back to the mainland and when Sora got out of the boat, Kairi was still in it, looking Riku over. "Maybe he's hurt somewhere else and we don't know. Maybe he hit his head or something. He could have a concussion, Sora."

He sighed, shaking his head. It was odd, and he felt a little guilty, that Kairi was even more concerned than he was. He equated it to the fact that he had so much confidence in Riku's ability; more than his own, to be sure. He wasn't so worried because he knew that he would be okay. As long as he had a breath to breathe, Riku would always fight to defend himself, no matter the enemy.

"He's going to be fine," he said, offering his hand to help her out of the boat. "We'll just have to take him to his parents' house for now. We can't help him here, can we?"

She looked up at him soulfully and then at Riku, giving him one last good once-over before she picked him up under his arms and offered him up to Sora. "He's really heavy," she laughed. "You guys sure grew a lot since we last got together here."

Sora grabbed him from her, hoisting him up onto the deck, settling him down gently as not to disturb his deep slumber. Her words made him smile though, despite their state of affairs. Kairi had a way of doing that, of always knowing what to say to bring the sun out on a cloudy situation. He was forever grateful for that and he only wished he had better ways of expressing his gratitude to her.

He reached out his hand to pull her out and waited until she successfully climbed up onto the dock. They both looked down at Riku and then up at each other and the two of them erupted into a very guilty giggle-fit. "How are we ever going to get him back home like that?" she asked, throwing her hands up in the air. "I already told you how heavy he was!"

Sora wiped tears from under his eyes, just coming down from his laughter. "Good point," he said, letting himself have the satisfaction of another small chuckle. "Are you suggesting that I carry him or something, Kairi?"

She gave him this completely self-confident, sly look; eyes hooded and mouth slightly upturned. "What?" she asked smugly. "Are you suggesting that I, a girl, would have the _man_ power to lift somebody as heavy as him?" She thrust a thumb in his direction – downward, that is. "Oh, Sora, you give me far too much credit!"

The younger boy groaned and ran a hand wearily over his face. "Fine," he said, conceding. "I guess I'll have to carry him, then. If you're not manly enough, then there's no other way. If I can lift a Keyblade – which you can too, by the way – then I can certainly lift one little Riku."

He knelt beside him and carefully began picking him up; one arm being placed underneath his neck and the other behind his knees. It felt odd and almost unnatural to be picking Riku up. Sora always imagined that it would be vice versa; that Riku would be the one picking _him_ up instead. But there they were and what else could he do? He had to sacrifice his daydream and help him out otherwise they would've just had to leave him there on the dock.

Sora wobbled uneasily on his legs and steadied himself by planting each foot down firmly on the wooden ground. "There," he said, trying to convince himself. "I can do this fine enough." Not really. From dragging him along earlier, he could tell just how heavy Riku was and now that he was holding him in his arms, he felt even heavier, if that was possible. He nodded to Kairi and she started walking out ahead of him. Although she was walking at an everyday, normal pace, to Sora, it felt like she was running away from him.

All he could do was wish that he could walk a bit faster while carrying him because he was _damn_ heavy and definitely slowing him down. To make things worse, Riku's house was farther away than Sora would have liked. The length of their "journey" was looking almost _threatening_. When they made their way up from the beach and to the streets of the mainland, they caught the eyes of people everywhere. Sora felt a little embarrassed that so many people would see him carrying another guy (Let alone Riku; someone who was a lot bigger than him.) but contented himself knowing that it wasn't odd so long as they knew he was passed out – nothing odd about that at all.

Left and right, they were receiving offers of help, but Sora didn't want to let anybody touch him. He wasn't sure why. It wasn't like any of the people would hurt Riku, it was just that after coming so far, he felt like he had to keep going until he reached his house otherwise picking him up in the first place would have been for nothing. Eventually, Kairi tried to get him to accept some help. When her suggestion didn't make it through to Sora, his limbs tried to persuade him. He felt his arms growing weaker and weaker, as though Riku was getting progressively heavier.

"Fine," he growled out through clenched teeth, finally unable to take the combined strain from Riku's weight and the heat of the sun any longer. "Somebody's got to take him before I drop him right here." Some gasps and fumbling hands later, Riku found his way into the arms of a kind stranger who graciously carried him back to his house with him.

Sora wiped an arm across his forehead, disgusted with the amount of sweat it left on him. "This heat is ridiculous. I can't blame Riku if he passed out from this."

The stranger looked back at Sora and Kairi and gave them a short nod to get their attention. "So is that what happened to this guy?" he asked.

Just when Kairi was about to respond, Sora nudged her lightly and spoke first. "Yeah," he said, furrowing his eyebrows, smiling slightly. "The heat. Yeah, he passed out from the heat and hurt himself when he fell."

Kairi looked over at Sora and knew just from the look on his face that he was lying. It was a good thing that man hadn't been looking at him because he would have known right away that he wasn't telling the truth. "But Sora," she whispered, "we don't know that yet."

"Hush up, Kairi," he muttered hastily. "That's why I said that. We don't want to get somebody we don't know involved in this whole thing, you know? We don't know what he would go and do. We don't want Riku's parents worrying unnecessarily about something that _we_ don't even know about yet."

She stayed quiet then and stared ahead until they finally reached Riku's house. The guy set Riku down on his front steps and backed off for the two of them. "You better get that thing on his face cleaned up real quick before it gets infected," he suggested. Kairi and Sora shared a look and they both smiled, knowing that it was such an obvious suggestion. They promised him that they would and the kind stranger took off, giving them a small wave when he walked away. "Be safe now, you hear!"

"We will!" Kairi promised, waving back.

Sora sighed and flapped the ends of his jacket in a feeble attempt to cool himself down. "I sure wish this hoodie had a zipper," he groaned. "I don't think I've ever been outside when it was this hot – at least, not without some lemonade."

Kairi sat down on steps beside Riku and propped up his head so she could fan his face with her hands. "You're right," she said, frowning. "I don't think I ever felt it this hot out here before either. It's sort of weird, don't you think?"

Looking down at Riku, Sora realized just how awfully bad he looked. The blood on his face was beginning to dry, but the cut looked dirty already and it sure didn't help that he had been lying in the sand. Sweat was dripping from his face and he was starting to breathe with harsh, labored breaths. Overall, he looked like he was in a lot of pain. He brushed the hair away from his face and leaned down, giving his uninjured cheek a gentle kiss.

Unexpectedly, the door behind them opened and there stood Riku's mother. She looked down at the three of them; Sora, Kairi, and then her eyes settled on her son. At first, she just stood there in shock and then, like any right-minded parent, she freaked out. She got on her knees and picked him up in her arms, combing away his hair so she could put a hand to his forehead.

"Oh, you two!" she gasped, completely awe-struck and worried. "What happened to him?"

Sora figured that Riku's mother deserved to know the truth. And, to be honest, the truth was looking more in their favor than lying about it, anyway. Sora cleared his throat, a blush spreading palely across his already flushed cheeks. He was grateful she'd opened the door _after_ he kissed him. "We… don't know what happened. Kairi and I were somewhere else and when we came back to him, we found him passed out like that. We don't know how he got hurt."

Barely even giving Sora the time of day, she hastily ran back into the house and returned soon with her husband who, plain-faced, took Riku into his arms and carried him up into his bedroom. When Sora started after him, Kairi grabbed him by the back of his jacket. She looked at him imploringly and gave him a curt nod.

"Take care of him, Sora."

"You aren't coming in?"

She shook her head and stepped away. "No," she said, linking her fingers behind her back. "He needs you more right now. I would only get in your way."

He looked her over and realized that she was being honest. For once, it seemed that Kairi understood how things had been. He smiled but it felt insincere. After hopping from one foot to another awkwardly, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her in a quick, brief hug. "Thank you, Kairi," he said quietly. "For everything."

From inside the house they heard Riku's mother call, "Are you two coming in?"

"Sorry," Kairi yelled into the house. "I'm leaving for now!" She stepped away and gave him one last smile. "See you, Sora."

"Yeah," he whispered, watching her go. "See you, too."

Author's Notes: I wrote most of that in one day. I had to stop at some point only because I was dead tired. I guess this is your assurance that I'm going to continue writing. Going over it, I think I've come up with a pretty exciting plot twist. Notice – I didn't tell you what happened to Riku just yet! You'll find that out next time!


	5. When you're fast asleep

Disclaimer: _Kingdom Hearts_ and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

Sora watched on in sheer fascination as Riku's father managed to carry him all the way up the stairs to his bedroom. How he managed it, Sora wasn't sure. Just carrying him down the street had proved to be an incredible (and nearly impossible) challenge, yet Riku's dad lifted him up like he was nothing. Maybe, Sora figured, he'd had to do that before. An adorable image of his dad picking up a sleeping Riku from the couch came to mind and a blush grew on his cheeks and his heart gave a quick thump.

He shouldn't be feeling so happy and secure, he reminded himself. Riku was passed out – not comfortably asleep. And someone would be having to tend to him. Just as he reached the base of the steps after kicking off his shoes, Riku's mother stepped in front of him and held him back. She had on that typical motherly "concerned" expression… Sora saw it often enough at his own house. He got that same look from simple scrapes on the knees. Riku's mother, on the other hand, looked like she didn't use that expression so often. She looked genuinely distressed.

She held her hands in front of herself, her eyebrows furrowing and her lips turning into a pout. "Oh, Sora," she sighed. "What could have happened to him?"

_I don't know! _Sora wanted to say. He wanted to only push past her and run up into the bedroom so he could see Riku. He wanted to shake him awake and find that out for himself. No amount of shaking would wake him though, he was aware. Kairi had tried that before to no avail. And besides, he had already told Riku's mom that he had no idea what happened… but there she stood, convinced that she could pry an answer out of him if she so desired.

"I… really don't know, ma'am," he said, stepping aside from her, putting a hand down on the stairway railing. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, wondering what in the world he could say differently that could assure her in someway. He rose his eyes to the ceiling, rolling them from side to side as though he could find the answer hidden somewhere up there. He sighed exasperatedly, giving up somewhat. "Really. I wish I knew, too. All we can do is wait until he wakes up so we can hear it from him, alright?"

He was able to only put one foot down on the steps before she took his wrist and looked into his eyes deeply, imploringly, searching for the answer within him for herself. She took her good old time and unnerved Sora in the process. Unable to find that answer that she was looking for, she pulled away and stood off to the side again. "Alright," she said, lowering her eyes. "It's just… Riku doesn't get hurt very often."

_Yeah,_ Sora thought to himself, _that's because he's like Superman._ It was like his mother was thinking the exact same thoughts he'd thought not even moments before. It was incredibly odd and awkward to see Riku so beaten up. Sora relied so heavily on Riku and it was disheartening and downright sad to see him hurt.

"He'll be fine. I'll be up there with him, okay?"

Sora flashed her a grin and a quick thumbs-up and she gave him her own small smile and allowed him to go on his way.

Shaking his head, he ascended the stairs after she left. He ran his fingertips along the railing, finding himself lost in those thoughts. He wished she hadn't spoken to him like that. Somehow, she had gone and made him even more concerned than he already was – which wasn't very much. So concerned he was, and he wasn't enjoying it.

He climbed the stairs one foot after the other, each one getting faster in pace as he went along. He wanted to see Riku. He wanted to see him more than he had ever, for some reason; like he was obsessed. Through their journeys, he didn't feel the need to get so concerned for him because he knew that Riku could take care of himself. He was sure of it; it was a fact. And if Riku was suddenly up in that room, passed out and unable to defend himself, then there was something seriously wrong. Sora didn't know what it was, but there was something inside of himself that was nagging at him, telling him that he should be afraid.

He reached Riku's room and stood outside, watching as his father lowered him down onto his bed, carefully lowering his head down onto the pillows. For it to be morning, it was pretty dark in Riku's bedroom. The blinds were drawn closed, only allowing small rays of light to filter through. His father stood, looking down at him blandly. Then he smiled; more of a smirk, really, but it was fast and then gone as though it had never been there at all. He flicked a switch on the wall by his bed and the fan above his bed came life.

Before he left, he put a hand on Sora's shoulder as some kind of small sign of encouragement. Encouragement for what, Sora wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he took it as some sort of show of gratitude. Taking in a breath, he strode into Riku's bedroom. He had to stand there next to him for a while until he realized that his shoulders were tense. Immediately, he felt embarrassed, realizing that he had no reason to be acting tough in front of Riku if he wasn't even awake.

He looked from his shoes to the ceiling to the window and then to the door, to Riku, to the door, to Riku, to the door and then back again. Deciding silently that it was beside, he walked back over to the door and shut it softly, locking it behind him. "Wouldn't want them seeing something they shouldn't," he mused quietly to himself, biting his lower lip nervously.

_Wow,_ he thought, swallowing that nervousness, only for it to resurface in no time at all. _Me, alone in the same room as Riku…! I'm… a real dork._

He slowly crossed the room to where he lay. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked away, feeling as though he was doing something indecent; like he couldn't look at him like that while he was sleeping. With his eyes averted, he found himself looking around his room. It looked a little bit familiar, actually. His room surprisingly looked a lot like his own. There were clothes still strewn out on the floor that had yet to be picked up and put back into their respective drawers. He had kids' toys still laying around which made Sora smile. He still had toys on his floor, too. There was no reason to throw them away and he couldn't bring himself to part with them. Most of his time was spent outside anyway.

His eyes kept traveling and he noticed that his walls were covered in posters and pictures of various things. He found himself loosening up, which was good considering that he hadn't been doing too well since he'd stepped foot in his room. He got closer to his walls to take a look at the kinds of things he was interested in.

They all looked to be band posters and posters from local events. Riku didn't seem to be the sentimental type at first glance, but Sora knew what thick skin he had. There had to be more under the cover. His eyes wandered to the pictures; photos he (or someone else) had taken of the island. There were pictures of his family; him with his mom and dad. And then there was one of him and Sora… and another… and a couple more.

Sora stopped looking about then, getting the idea. It made him happy though, to think that Riku thought about him enough to have pictures of them together covering his walls. Stepping away from the wall, he started pacing around his room, wondering if there was anything else he could entertain himself with until Riku woke up; not that he wanted to be nosey. It wasn't his room, so he didn't necessarily have the place to himself to do whatever he wanted to do.

He meandered a little around the room, looking at things here and there and taking the time to occasionally pick something up to look at it. Eventually, he wound up at his window. He tugged at the pull and the shades went up, allowing in a significant amount of light. It instantly brightened up the room and gave it more of a homey feeling; something it had been distinctly lacking prior to. Sora laughed slightly, amused that Riku chose to live still in a very dark place, just as he had told him. He looked back over at the bed and smiled. Then frowned.

While it was great and good that Riku was looking a lot happier in his sleep, he felt terribly stupid for not cleaning up the cut on his face. He rushed over to him soon after the realization and looked him over again. Now that he was alone with him and he was a bit more level-headed, he noticed that the cut on him wasn't nearly as bad as he previously thought it was but it needed attention without a doubt. Unable to believe that he'd ignored it for as long as he had, he ran back out into the hall, to their bathroom, and helped himself to whatever antiseptics he could find in their over-the-sink cabinet. Unable to find any paper towels, he settled for a couple damp tissues to clean it off with first.

Sora snuck back into Riku's bedroom, locking it behind him again. He hoped desperately that Riku's parents would neither mind nor care that he'd run off with the contents of their bathroom cabinet. He rolled his eyes and gave himself a light smack on the forehead, remembering that he should be more concerned with Riku's well-being. He turned over some of the things he had gathered and looked them over, curious as to what he had collected exactly.

Antiseptic: check. Q-tips: check. Some other crap: definite check.

"Sorry, Riku," he murmured softly, sitting himself down on the bed beside him. "I can only do so much for you with the kinds of things you had in your bathroom." He set down the rest of his stuff, took a little time to assess the wound, and then started cleaning away the blood that had dried around the cut. The only sort of thing that could have possibly gotten got into the wound would have been sand, but there wasn't much around it. Sora breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that he didn't have to work so hard to clean it up.

It was a relatively painless process; Riku only winced a couple times through it when Sora applied the disinfectant. Sighing, realizing that Riku wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, he picked his stuff up again and quietly had it returned to their bathroom without anyone noticing. He returned to the bedroom as quietly as he had left. When he turned back around, to his surprise, Riku had his eyes open.

"Oh!" Sora gasped; his heart racing in sudden surprise. "Are you awake now?"

Riku only nodded and brought up his arms to pillow his head upon.

He was pretty quiet, but Sora figured that it was because he'd only just woken up. Although he wanted to jump on his bed and ask him everything that had been on his mind, he understood. He wasn't very talkative himself first thing after waking up. "So…" Sora muttered softly, looking around awkwardly. "Does that cut still hurt?"

"Cut?" Sora couldn't believe his ears. Had Riku serious just asked…? Realization dawned on Riku's face and he flinched, putting a hand up to his face which in turn made him recoil again at the stinging pain. Surprisingly though, he laughed then; at his foolishness, Sora supposed. "Yeah, that was dumb of me."

Sora laughed, glad to have the old Riku back. He practically pranced over to his bed in happiness and flopped himself down, resting his head on Riku's stomach. "So what happened anyway?"

Sitting up a little, Riku rested his head back on his headboard. "You know… that's a really good question." He tapped his bottom lip, furrowing his brow a bit to consider the question. If someone had a giant cut on their face, one would imagine they would definitely remember where they got it from. Riku seemed to have no such luck though. In fact, he looked a little lost. "Okay… what was I doing…"

_Good_, Sora thought. _If he starts at the beginning then he might figure out what happened._ After all, that had worked for Sora in the past.

"Okay, so I was on the beach." Sora nodded – that was obvious. "And I was waiting a long time for you guys. You and Kairi were taking your good old time in there, so I sat down on the beach and decided to take a nap under one of the palm trees. I didn't really get to have that nap I wanted though because I wasn't really that _tired._ I was just kind of bored. So, I started looking out at the ocean and… God, I was really bored wasn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah, get to the good part!" Sora demanded impatiently, crawling fully on top of him.

Lightly, Riku smacked him on the back of the head. "I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it." Settling himself back into his state of mind, he continued. "Okay, so I was looking at the ocean. And just when I was about to get up and come looking for you so we could get a move on, something happened. Or… somebody showed up." He closed his eyes, flinching again as if he was being taken aback by something like a painful memory. "Red. No, black. He was wearing black and he had a really creepy smile. He said he was looking for you, Sora."

"Me?"

"No. Roxas."

Sora bolted up and threw down his fists. "…Axel."

Author's Notes: BAM. There you go. I'm going to have to figure out a way that can happen, exactly… But it'll happen, no worries. I hope you've all been enjoying this so far. It's definitely my longest story to date and I've been enjoying writing it, I guess. Feedback is appreciated as always!


	6. We belong together

Disclaimer: _Kingdom Hearts_ and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel. 

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

"But Axel is dead! I saw it with my own two eyes!" Sora threw his arms up in the air and let them linger, time feeling as though it was being slowed around him. Riku had to be joking… He mustn't have known what he was talking about. Either that or somebody was playing a really cruel trick on him.

Riku shrugged and sat up a little, trying to make himself more comfortable on his bed. "Look," he said, reaching out and touching Sora's arm. "I wouldn't know. I wasn't there, remember?" He was right. Riku wasn't there when Axel died. A little spark of hope shone in Sora's eyes. "But I know what I saw. I would know Axel's face anywhere and I'm sure that it was Axel. He looked really sad and desperate."

"So what happened to your face, then? How'd you get that cut on you?"

Dismissively, he waved his hands in front of Sora. "Easy. He said he wanted to see you, right? Er… Roxas, rather. That guy is very persistent, you know. From what I'd seen of the Organization, I'd never trusted Axel. He was with them so that made him the same as them; the lowest of the low – probably one of the sneakiest and most under-handed people I've ever met. Just seeing his face alerted me to the fact that something was up."

Clearly, nothing Riku said was satisfying Sora. He was sitting now in between his legs, clutching at the bed sheets as though they were his lifeline. Sora nodded instantly, encouraging him to continue with his story. "Go on, what happened?"

"Give me a second to recall, will you?" He tilted his head back and closed his eyes again, crossing his arms over his chest. He took in a deep, cleansing breath and then opened his eyes again and they seemed clearer somehow. "Okay. As I said, I knew something was up. So I told him that I would never tell him where you were. Obviously, that made him angry and he came at me. He made those two flaming rings of his appear and the two of us started fighting. I guess I've still got it. Way to the Dawn appeared in my hand so I could fight him. It was kind of weird," he mused, rubbing his temple.

"Way to the Dawn? You mean your Keyblade?"

"Yeah. It just appeared in my hand out of nowhere like it usually does. I didn't expect that since we're back here at home and all. I lost though." He laughed gently, making Sora blush. "I guess I really _was_ tired, after all!"

Sora sighed, sinking back down onto the bed. "So Axel was the one that hurt you."

"Don't be so depressed, Sora. I'm fine. Honest."

Actually, it depressed Riku even seeing Sora being so sad. It was weird; unnatural. Similar to the way that Sora relied on Riku to be the strength and guiding force of his life, Riku relied on Sora to be the cheerful sunshine that brightened up his darkest corners. Right then, Sora wasn't looking like his bright and happy sunshine. Instead, it looked like a deep shadow had fallen across him, bathing him in sadness. He looked troubled and it troubled Riku in turn to see him in such a way.

He wanted to reach out and hold him, but he held himself back from doing so. Sora just looked so lost in whatever it was he was thinking. Whatever it was, it had put him into that dark place and Riku wanted so badly to help him out of it.

"Well, Sora? What do you want me to say?" He wanted to help him anyway he could to bring him out of his sudden misery, but at just the sound of his voice, Sora flinched.

A brief silence followed.

"I want you to tell me you're joking," he said.

Unable to keep himself back any longer, Riku reached out to his lonesome lover and gathered him into his arms. Gently, he ran his fingers through Sora's soft, spiked hair, easing his head down until it rested against his chest. "I don't know what else I can tell you," he said, continuing to stroke his hair. "I just hope you understand what you're dealing with because I don't."

"He wants my Nobody, Riku. The whole time I was looking for you, that guy followed me around and kept asking me – _Roxas_ – to return to him. He looked at me the way that I look at you, like I'm his lover or something. What in the world was Roxas doing? I wish I could talk to him the way I talked to him back in The World That Never Was again. He wasn't just 'Roxas: Part of Organization XIII'. No, Riku, he was 'Roxas: Axel's boyfriend'."

Riku looked away, out his window… which he noticed was opened for once. It wasn't often that he opened his window and it brought a small, happy smile to his face. He glanced down at Sora and realized that he had slowed in his caresses. Sora sighed, eyes lidded.

"But he wasn't a bad guy. He may not have had a heart but he was a good guy on the inside. Or maybe… Maybe Roxas made him like that."

Riku grinned a cheeky smile. "I can relate," he said, placing his chin on top of Sora's head.

Sora waved a dismissive hand at him and rolled away from his hold, just enough to plant his feet firmly on the ground. He walked over to Riku's window and placed his elbows down on the sill, staring out at nothing in particular. His eyes were just as clouded as his mind; unable to understand how it was possible that Axel had lived. But perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing. He knew – Axel was a good guy. Why would he still be pursuing Roxas, though? Did he really love him enough to rise up from beyond the grave to come searching for him? _That_ sounded like true love.

But was true love worth hurting someone else for? Probably, Sora thought, considering his own love for Riku. If someone was holding Riku captive, similar to the way that Sora was "holding" Roxas, then he wouldn't think twice about coming after them to free him. If he could find a way to come back to life to do it, then by God, he would do it.

Having Axel wandering their streets was a seriously bad idea, of course; especially a desperate Axel. Who knew what he could do in desperation? Last time, he had gone as far as to capture Kairi to bring Sora around. For all he knew, Axel could go to the same extent and play dirty with their loved ones. It wasn't the same as being out in a different world. This time it was their home town, a place where they know everyone and everything is special and important.

A light went on in Sora's mind – Kairi.

He turned around swiftly and gave Riku only a moment's notice before he bolted out of his bedroom door. Riku took chase, following him quickly down his stairs and out their front door. His mother looked out from the kitchen just as they exited the front door. She shouted after them but it was too late, as they were already running down the road toward Kairi's house.

"Why does she always make herself such an easy target!" Sora screamed, running at top speed. When he tried to pick up his pace to run even faster, he tripped over his feet and went flying. Riku was there, catching him mid-fall. Putting one of Sora's arms around his shoulder, he hoisted him up. Sora was like an unchained animal; desperate to get to Kairi before anything bad could happen. He strained against Riku's hold, trying to break away.

"Sora," he growled, pulling the slighter boy against him roughly. He grabbed his chin and tilted his face up so he could look directly into his eyes, making sure he was holding him with more than just physical force. Satisfied that he had Sora's attention, he spoke slowly, his voice as pointed as sharp daggers.

"You know that isn't her fault."

Swallowing hard, looking away, Sora mumbled an apology. Feeling Sora relax, Riku released him, giving him a gentle smack on the side of the head. Sora felt a little embarrassed still that he would be blaming Kairi for her own bad luck again. He shouldn't have had to remind himself that it wasn't her fault.

Still, he was worried that Axel would try something again. Now that he and Roxas were connected he didn't want to lose him to anybody. Roxas was like a missing part of his heart that had been put back in place when they met on friendly terms. He wanted things to remain like that; not just because it was supposed to be like that, but also because it just _felt_ right.

"I'm sorry, Riku," he mumbled, head falling weakly against Riku's shoulder. "It's just… I don't want Axel to take him from me."

A pain arose in Riku's heart as he looked down at Sora and saw the lost look in his eyes. There was a genuine concern there for Roxas; a very personal sort of emotion that resonated through Sora's entire being. It was truth.

Realizing, _knowing_ what they should do, Riku took Sora's hand. Axel had no place in their world. His existence was meaningless and they would send him back to the darkness from whence he came. It was their job, their duty, to do so. They wouldn't be killing him. He was never truly alive to start with.

They looked at each other and nodded. Securing Kairi's safety had to come before all else.

Author's Notes: That chapter was a little shorter than they usually are, but the next one is going to be mind-fucking. The unexpected will surely happen. For now, I hope you enjoyed what I could provide. Feedback is appreciated, yo!


	7. And sing rockaby the night

Disclaimer: _Kingdom Hearts_ and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

Sora sprinted forward, dragging a very worn-out Riku behind himself. The way to Kairi's was a long one but Sora's feet knew exactly where to take him. His eyes scouted every place along their way, half expecting to find Axel lurking behind a corner or harassing some innocent bystanders. Although he knew that Axel wasn't necessarily the type who would outright terrorize people, he knew he had the potential and he knew the kinds of things people could do when they were in love.

His face grew warm, knowing inside the kinds of things he would do if Riku was missing; after all, it had happened before. Never again, he promised himself, would they be apart. Roxas had to become his first priority though if he was to ever keep _them_ together. He felt so torn, like he was being tugged by the arms in opposite directions all the time. It was so difficult to protect everybody at the same time. He often worried that if he focused too much on one of his friends that someone else would end up in danger.

How was it that danger just fell into his lap that way, anyway? It was frustrating and tiring and all he wanted to do for once was rest without the worries.

He felt Riku's hand in his tighten and soon he'd caught up to him and was running beside him. "Trying to make this a race, Sora?" he asked, a bright grin on his lips.

A race – that was the last thing he needed. He was impressed with himself that he even managed to keep breath in his lungs. It often seemed like he could run for days on end if given the motivation. Other people weren't the same, he had to remember. So he slowed down a little for Riku, apologizing awkwardly.

"Sorry," he said, finally letting out an exhausted breath. "You know how I get."

That was more like the understatement of the year. Riku indeed knew firsthand how _motivated_ Sora could be. Given their situation though, he couldn't blame him. He was worried for Kairi as well. Even though he had faith in her, he understood why Sora got so worked up about her when there was potential danger near.

Even when they reached her house, Sora didn't seem that much more comfortable about their situation. He kept clenching and unclenching his palms in anticipation, almost as if he was waiting for something to happen just from standing outside of her house, like being there would set off a bomb or something. Riku patted him on the back, laughing at him a little.

"Everything looks sound here, you know? I really don't think we've got any creepy Organization XIII guys wandering around here. For all we know, he's _late._ That way, we can get the jump on him!"

"That's not funny," Sora growled batting away Riku's hand. He stepped up to their porch and took in a long, uneven breath. He knew that Riku was right and to be so nervous was only irrational thinking. Yet… he couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger. There was surely something big coming; he could feel it but he didn't know what it was. Axel couldn't have possibly worried him so much; there had to be something else.

His finger hesitated just short of the doorbell. He let it linger for a second, heart pounding wildly in his chest. The lights were on; he could hear a radio inside – what was there to be scared of? Almost as a courtesy, Riku pushed him aside and rang the doorbell for him. Sora looked at him in surprise, stumbling back on the wooden flooring of the porch. Riku didn't bother looking at him; he knew the kind of look he had to have on his face.

He shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm telling you, Sora… Are you scared of a doorbell now, too?"

Sora only released a soft sigh and came to join Riku at his side at the door. It was starting to feel like they were rescuing Kairi all the time. Although, they weren't even so sure yet that she was even _in_ trouble. Sora tapped his feet nervously on the porch, just about ready to explode if nobody inside was going to answer. He would have suggested busting down the door themselves if that wouldn't have been such an asinine suggestion. Since that was a bad idea and strictly out of the question, he clenched his fists tight and waited.

"I wonder if anybody is ever going to answer. I rang the bell, right? Maybe it doesn't work." Just when Riku reached out to push it again, the door flew open and there stood Kairi's dad wearing an apron, a ladle in hand. An amusing silence followed; Riku and her father staring at each other, blinking curiously, Sora looking from one to the other.

"You just missed lunch."

Sora wanted to laugh and go all-out on Riku from seeing how ridiculously stupefied he'd become. He had to contain it though and hold back his laughter. Otherwise he risked getting yelled at. Not that Riku could have denied how funny he looked. Sora stepped between the two of them and looked up at Kairi's father, smiling kindly.

"Sorry about that, sir. We aren't here for lunch, though. We're here to see Kairi."

He patted the ladle on his palm, considering their intent with a bland stare. After all, what respectable father would let in two rather good-looking boys into his house when he knew he had a beautiful, ripe daughter they could potentially take advantage of? Realization dawned on his face though when he remembered who those two "good-looking boys" were. "Riku! Sora!" he practically cheered, ladle coming down to rest at his side like a withdrawn weapon. "Feel free to come right on in. Kairi should be up in her room."

Come to think of it, her father seemed like a really kind guy, despite his initial reservations. He had a little bit of a beard, light hair, and tiny wrinkles next to his eyes, clearly from smiling often. When Sora thought about it, he reminded him a lot of Kairi. Not that there was any real resemblance; there was just something that surrounded them that felt the same. It was a sort of warmth.

Sora quietly excused himself and made his way into their house. Riku shrugged, watching his boyfriend disappear into the house. He nodded to Kairi's dad, shook his hand, and followed in silently in Sora's wake. Once he was inside, he realized just what a maze their home was. Riku wasn't entirely sure where Sora had run off to. Surely her father had said "up in her room" but there weren't any stairs to be immediately seen. He felt a little embarrassed; he'd never actually been inside of her house. Sora was there a lot and he would wait outside for the two of them. Of course, those were the days when his heart would ache; watching him go in, he would always anxiously wait for him to come back out, afraid that there could be something going on inside that he would never see.

It was obvious that Sora knew his way around her place better than he did, though. He didn't want to look like he was scouring their house or intruding or something, so he ducked into the first hall he saw and there at the end of it was what he'd been searching for – the staircase. He gave himself a mental pat on the back and began his assent, albeit creeped out by what a tall, narrow staircase it was. Never would he admit it openly, but he was a little frightened of heights.

When he finally got up to their top floor, he spotted the room that obviously belonged to Kairi. It was hilariously obvious, in fact. It had pink sparkles and flowers and posters all over the door. Of course, it had the obligatory "KEEP OUT" sign on the front, warning whoever was on the outside that they better keep themselves out if they didn't want to face the wrath of the teenage girl inside.

Chuckling softly to himself, he opened the door, glad to find Kairi and Sora sitting on her bed inside. His gaze softened at seeing the two, looking so happy to be talking to each other. Sometimes, he believed, you just had to give Sora what he wants or he'll never be satisfied. Everything seemed to have been put back in place; no problems whatsoever.

"No Axel, I take it?" he asked, coming in and closing the door behind himself, just incase somebody else might decide to come along. That sign on the door must have been there for a reason, he figured.

Kairi's ears seemed to perk up at the mere mention of their enemy's name. "Axel?" she asked, apparently surprised to hear Riku talking about him. "What do you mean about him?" It was obvious to Riku then that Sora hadn't mentioned Axel to her. From the way Sora glanced up at him he could tell that he hadn't told her on purpose, at that. If his eyes had truly seen him, then they had every reason to tell Kairi about it – and that he would.

"It was Axel," Riku explained calmly. Sora didn't seem like he was about to complain at all about him talking to her about it. In fact, he sat there quietly, hands folded in his lap, eyes resting on the wooden panels of his friend's bedroom floor. "Axel was the one that did that to me. I'm sure it was him because he was just as strong as ever."

"It's because I didn't kill him the first time around. All of them sort of brought death upon themselves but it was always at the receiving end of my Keyblade. Axel was taken by the Nobodies, not by me. I was foolish enough to believe that Axel had ended there. I was sad to see him go but there was a sort of relief there, too. I would rather he be gone now." Sora took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Because I think he wants Roxas."

Kairi looked nothing short of horrified. Spending hours trapped alone with Axel would probably have that sort of affect on a person, Riku thought. When Riku finally caught up with her after so long, she looked so grateful to have been rescued.

"This is terrible," she muttered, eyebrows furrowing in a worried frown. For a group of only three young teenagers, the three of them had more drama in their lives than all the kids in an average school combined. None of their difficulties even came from the typical teenage drama, either. It was all about adventure, danger, and places unheard of. They longed eagerly for the day that they would be able to settle down and not worry about what would happen if they stepped outside.

Sora shook his head and stood, helping Kairi up shortly after he got up. "We can't be worrying our lives away though," he said, gripping her hand protectively. "If Axel's out there… So what?" The sudden about-face in attitude surprised the other two and they looked at him with mouths gaping, eyes wide. "We'll just have to stick together from now on; have a little bit more faith in each other. And if he comes for one of us, I guess we'll have to take him on."

Grinning, Sora walked back over to the door, ready to leave. "You especially, Kairi. If anybody ever comes after you, you know I'll be there to get your back!"

Smiles filled the room, the air felt lighter, and a general ease settled over the three friends. They had their Sora back; the one who put confidence in their hearts and helped them to their feet when they'd fallen.

Behind Sora, the door opened with the soft creek of rusty metal hinges. Instinctively, Sora's smile fell, his eyes went blank.

"Who ever said I was after Kairi, Roxas?"

With that, a hand was plunged cleanly through Sora's back.

Author's Notes: Ha. I hate to leave you hanging there, but I'm going to have to. It's a good end for the chapter, I think. You might be wondering right now, "What is Axel's hand doing in Sora's back?" You'll find out soon enough. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I'm loving where this is going. Reviews are lovely!


	8. My darling love

Disclaimer: _Kingdom Hearts_ and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

The air felt like it had been knocked straight out of his lungs. He would have screamed had his voice not failed him. It was like he was trapped in a horror film where he was the unsuspecting victim. He could only imagine the expression of sheer delight Axel must have held behind his back. Sora didn't know how he was going to accomplish what he wanted by shoving his hand into his back but there was something distinctly odd about it all. Where had his hand gone to, anyway?

It had surely entered through his back, feeling like a bullet shot straight at his heart. And although it never exited his chest, it felt like his hand was searching farther and farther in front of him. Where was he reaching? How far would he go before it was over? Sora couldn't do anything to stop him. Everything felt like it was slowing down around him. He tried to shout to say anything but his voice still wouldn't come. Something was breaking inside of him; he could feel it. He was helpless, all he could do was tear-up and hope that his friends would save him.

Riku looked horrified and Kairi already had her face hidden in her hands, afraid to look up. Everything sounded like they'd been put into a tunnel where everything echoed slowly back to his ears. Riku was running for him, reaching out his hand for him but he couldn't reach him in time. Axel laughed and pressed his other palm flat against Sora's back to wrench out the hand that had been searching around inside of him.

"Roxas," he said softly. "I've finally got you, Roxas."

Roxas? He was taking Roxas; that's what he felt falling away from him. Finally, Riku's voice reached his ears and at first he had no idea what he was trying to say. It eventually sunk in.

"What _is_ that?"

Kairi looked up; in her eyes, distress and dismay at whatever it was they were seeing. Sora's legs finally gave and he collapsed and Riku rushed forward to quickly catch him in his arms. Sora was still confused though; he couldn't quite explain what it was that he was feeling. The tears finally fell from his eyes, feeling as though something had been broken, as though something was incredibly wrong. Riku put a hand on his shoulder and shook him lightly to draw his attention back up to Axel.

He could barely believe his eyes. Why was he holding… a Keyblade? Roxas was nowhere to be seen but Sora was certain he had been taken from him. He didn't want to believe it himself, but he and Roxas had been separated again. Axel looked distressed as well as he held up the Keyblade to inspect it.

It was a strange Keyblade, unlike any Sora had ever seen. It glistened with a metallic sort of sheen; grey, tan, and black. It was a sandy combination of colors, not one of the three visible on its own, blending in evenly with the others to create its own unique hue. The blade itself was shaped from bone; truly as if it had been pulled straight from Sora's body. It was horrifying and beautiful at the same time.

Axel didn't seem quite as thrilled by its appearance though. It was possible that he was even more distraught than Sora. There he stood, holding in his hand a Keyblade instead of the hand of the boy he loved. He had every reason to be disappointed. Instead of kindly handing back the Keyblade though, he took one more glance at the stunned trio and disappeared as quickly as he could into one of his warped black holes, Keyblade still firmly in his hand.

"We couldn't do anything," Sora whispered sadly, burying his nose in the crook of Riku's neck. "He's gone because we couldn't do anything to stop Axel. Riku, after everything we said. After we convinced ourselves that we could handle him and keep Roxas safe… After all of that talking we did, it was still all for nothing."

Riku couldn't find it in himself to lie to Sora. He was right, after all. After the way they talked back at his house, they'd convinced themselves that they could face Axel if he ever showed up. After he got defeated by a measly group of Dusks in the past, it seemed only obvious that they could take him on with no problem. None of them expected that he would lay a sneak attack on them the way he did. It was barely even a sneak attack. All he did was open a door and put his hand in Sora's back. The more they thought about it, the worse they felt, and the more they thought they could have done something to prevent it all from happening.

Sora found himself falling apart in Riku's arms. Despite the many times he told Sora he would be there for him, it seemed like the perfect time for him to push him from his embrace. He needed to get up, stand up like the hero he was, and reunite himself with Roxas for good. And that's exactly what he did.

Completely surprised, Sora yelped when he was pushed from Riku's lap. "What was that for?" he asked, hints of his sadness still straining through his voice, making him sound like a whining child.

Standing, Riku placed his hands firmly on his hips. "That's for acting like you're helpless. I know you're not, Sora. You're one of the bravest people I know. You've fallen victim to Axel and now you're acting like a baby because it's your first defeat. When you lose something, you get it back, right? So stop sitting there acting like the world is coming to an end because it's _not_."

When it came down to it, he really didn't feel that different. It was a little like being separated from a good friend, though; like they were moving away. As soon as Roxas was gone, he felt some immense sadness and a feeling of incompletion. But, when Sora really started to think about it, no friend can stand around feeling bad about their friend who's gone. No, they have to move on with their life. The only problem with that analogy, he realized, was that Roxas wasn't just a friend. He was a living, breathing part of him.

"We'll get him back," Sora said, deadpan. "We need to find Axel… and when we do I'm going to send him back to where he belongs."

"Sora," Kairi spoke up, coming from the bed to kneel down beside him. "You realize what that means, don't you? What you're saying, essentially, is that you're going to send him back to his old body. _That's_ where he belongs, right? I mean, if Roxas belongs in _you_, don't you think Axel belongs in someone, too?"

Taking the hand that she proffered to him, he hoisted himself up into a standing position with a little bit of effort. Obviously, Sora hadn't thought about that point. To him, it sounded a little like some kind of paradox or something. Thinking back on his own situation, he tried to make sense of it. He became a Heartless, was reunited with his body, but in the time that he was away… a Nobody formed. The only problem was that it didn't get the chance to inhabit his body. Naminé and Roxas had solid forms that didn't need to inhabit their original bodies, though. It was possible that what Kairi was saying was true, but there was also the possibility that the Axel they saw was already inside of his original body. Sora would let Kairi believe what she wanted, though. If he told her otherwise, that Axel was already in his real body, then if they defeated him…

That would mean they would really be ending his existence for good.

"I don't know about that, Kairi. He'll just have to figure something out on his own – or better yet, he can turn over a new leaf. Whatever he does, until then, we have to treat him as the enemy like we did the last time or something else might happen."

Riku stepped between the two of them and waved his hands in front of their faces. "In the time that you two have been chatting over there, have either of you thought about that Keyblade he had yet? What was it and where did it come from? And, Sora, how sure can you be that he took Roxas if we didn't even see him leave you? Axel didn't look too happy when he pulled that out of you. Do you think he knew what it was?"

"Woah!" Sora groaned, holding his hands to his head. "What is this, 20 Questions? Slow it down, will you?"

Despite Sora's joke, none of them laughed, each of them already lost in thought. It was certainly a perplexing situation that none of them could really understand. How exactly were they suppose to figure out what that unusual Keyblade was and where it came from, anyway? On second thought… "I get it!"

Kairi and Riku looked up at him, both startled by his sudden outburst. Sora weakly apologized, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry about that," he said, stepping away from the other two so he could sit on Kairi's bed. "I think I figured it out, though. I might be wrong and we might not ever have a way of truly knowing whether this is right or not but I think I've got it now. See, what is the purpose of the Keyblade?"

"To seal the Keyholes of the worlds," Riku answered calmly, still not following Sora's train of thought entirely.

"So why would there be a Keyblade inside of me if there wasn't a Keyhole? Maybe that Keyblade was what was keeping me and Roxas bound together. He had to do a lot of pushing and shoving before he could get his hand out of me, so pulling that out probably took Roxas with it."

Kairi adopted the same worried expression she usually had on in that sort of situation and her hands rose up to her mouth to cover a small gasp. "So, Sora," she whispered, nervous to even say what was on her mind. "Roxas is in the Keyblade?"

Author's Note: Oh no! That took me a lot of thinking to figure out but I think I got it done without any plotholes or unexplainable things happening. (Tell me if something's noticeably wrong, though.) The next chapter belongs to Axel. He needs some time alone to angst over the fact that Roxas is trapped inside of a giant key… and he'll probably take that time to figure out how to get him out. I hope you enjoyed this installment! Feedback's appreciated!


	9. A sky only you can see

Disclaimer: _Kingdom Hearts_ and all affiliated materials are property of Square Enix and Disney. The song _Sapphire Night_ belongs to Alexa Ray Joel.

Sapphire Night  
By: Nanaki BH

Night came quickly and Axel found himself on the beach once again. What was going on anymore? Nothing was happening the way he'd hoped it would. In his hands he held a Keyblade he'd never seen, one that undoubtedly held more in its blade than the average Keyblade. The more he looked at it, the more he ran his fingers over it, the more he felt a connection with Roxas. He didn't want to believe it but he was sure that Roxas dwelled somewhere deep inside of it. Frustration was beginning to build within him, unsure of himself and the situation.

Sensing his frustration, a voice, seeming to come from the Keyblade itself, called out to Axel. It didn't matter what it said to him, Axel was immediately on his feet, the Keyblade flung far away from him.

"Goddamn ghosts!" he yelled at it.

"_No, Axel, it's me_," the voice desperately tried to explain. It sounded sad, almost as if the speaker had been crying. Axel's heart broke instantly, knowing who it was. He dragged his feet across the beach and collapsed beside the Keyblade, gathering it into his arms. There was nothing quite like its cold steel. Axel wasn't sure whether it was real or whether it was his mind playing tricks on him but he could have sworn that he felt a little warmth in it that wasn't his own. It had a pulse and a life and Roxas had no way of escaping it without his help.

"Where are you?" Axel asked weakly, fingers trailing over the blade delicately.

"_I'm sure you don't want to hear it, but I'm in the Keyblade; I'm in Desert Peace,_" he said, careful not to hurt Axel any more.

"This is what happens when you separate a heart, I guess. This is what we get for existing, Roxas."

"_But we must exist for a reason. Who was it who first decided that we had no hearts? Even if we've been separated from the ones we came from, the ones with the true hearts, don't you think they'd have at least left some sort of impact on us? Don't you think we should feel the way they'd have felt?_"

Axel was stuck on feeling bad for himself. They all must've been. There was certainly more to being a Nobody than they would've admitted to themselves. They'd been stamped by everybody as having no hearts but there was more to them than met the eye and the textbook definition of a Nobody. They weren't like the normal, average Dusks. They had thoughts, feelings, and desires. They dreamed just as much as everybody else. They hurt just as much as everybody else.

"_So what happened then? I saw you, you know. I was inside of Sora,_" Roxas said, breaking the silence between them.

"You were?" Axel said, laughing softly. "I had a feeling you were there." He could never forget the look on Sora's face just before he left. Somewhere in his eyes, he could see Roxas. It made him happy to know that he'd been saved but at the same time, Sora had made himself Axel's motivation. He wanted to get him back no matter what; especially considering that he'd been left in the body of a Nobody.

Taking in a deep, calming breath, Axel pushed himself up to sit in the sand. "Well, it's hard to explain," he said but Roxas almost instantly urged him to try to tell him the whole story. "Fine, I'll try," he muttered, running a hand through his spiked up hair. "I'm sure you saw me going down, right? At least, that's what Sora thought was going on. I slipped through a warp hole, cleverly disguising it, making it look like I was dying the way the others had. I got some practice time in for something like that since so many of them had died before Sora and I met there."

"_So you were just fooling me and Sora?_" Roxas asked, seeming a little confused.

Axel flopped back onto his back into the sand again and threw a glance at the Desert Peace. "Well, yeah. I had to if I wanted to live."

Roxas allowed him a little more silence. Lying there like that, side by side, with his eyes closed, Axel could have sworn Roxas was truly lying there beside him. It was a strange sort of feeling; he felt happy, having Roxas there but he couldn't entirely keep himself from feeling sad. There had to be something he could do to help him. What more could there be that Roxas hadn't probably already tried, though? With the intonation in his voice earlier, he was sure that was what he'd been trying to do. A question arose in his mind that he just had to ask.

"Roxas," he muttered softly, closing his eyes, only wanting to hear his voice.

"_Yeah, Axel?_" he asked.

Axel sighed and brought up his arms to fold behind his head. He didn't feel right asking it but he had to. If he were to ever hope to have Roxas back in his arms, he had to know. "Roxas," he asked, "did you enjoy being with Sora?"

Silence, then a small sigh. With his eyes closed, Axel could picture the way he would have look; shoulders sagging, head lowered. "_I don't know_," he said, taking some time to consider the question. "_I thought I would feel complete. I think he did but he has other reasons to feel complete now, too. All I had was him and that didn't make me feel as complete as I thought it would. I…_" Some silence. "_When I connected with him for the first time, everything came back to me through his memories. And I realized _why_ I should miss you.__And I did._"

"I'm so sorry," Axel whispered, putting an arm over his eyes to hide his tears. There was no one to hide them from but himself. He was ashamed; so ashamed that he couldn't have done anything to keep them together.

"_You've got nothing to be sorry for,_" Roxas said, trying to settle him a little, sure that he was crying on the outside. "_I wish I could just…_" His voice cracked and he gasped, surprised in himself and instantly felt embarrassed. What he meant to say, what he wished he could do was just wrap his arms around him, return his embrace. They say that loneliness doesn't make a sound. Then what were tears? What was the sound of anguished cries? That was loneliness and it was crying loud in his ears.

Roxas never thought he would ever wish he could cry.

Too busy feeling bad for the two of them, Axel didn't even notice when Roxas' desperate desire became real. Only when Roxas' arms were around him did he come to realize that for once, something was real again; for once, things were the way they wanted them to be. "I should've learned," Axel laughed sadly. "Things tend to happen around here if you're sad enough."

"Nah, Axel. Good things happen to those who wait. That's how it works, you know. I don't think it has anything to do with people who sit around feeling bad for themselves. Good things happen for people who want to do good things for others." He pushed himself up onto his palms and looked down at Axel, the moon surrounding his face; a halo of golden light. "I love you so much."

It was unbelievable. All day, every day, ever since the two of them were separated from each other, Axel had longed to be reunited with him and could only imagine Roxas' adorable, familiar face. Seeing him there above him was just something unbelievable and unreal. He wanted to hold him and kiss him and everything all at once. A wave of elation swept over Axel's heart as he realized that Roxas was truly all he needed to survive. So long as he loved him and so long as he knew that somewhere, Roxas loved him too, then he could easily continue on his life no matter the consequences. The worlds could collide and so long as Roxas would be there in the end waiting for him, ready to hold his hand and take him back to his side, he knew that things would be alright.

"I love this. I love seeing you and being here with you… but… I get the feeling like this just can't last forever," Axel muttered, averting his eyes to the side to stare out across the moonlit waters. "You know what I mean? Our happiness is so fragile. It's like it's always depending on Sora. Do you think it's possible that we can only exist so long as he's happy?"

Roxas rose an eyebrow cutely and, taking Axel's chin in his hand, connected their gazes. "I think you're speculating too much, Axel. So what if Sora's going to want to take me back? What about you? Don't you think it's time to go back to where you came from, too? It may seem odd but you know that Naminé and I are never apart. She's always there in Kairi and I get to see her all the time."

Axel couldn't help himself from appearing crestfallen. "That sounds nice, Roxas. But I have nowhere to go to. I've already reached the end of my line."

"That's right," a commanding voice called from across the beach. Standing a distance away from them stood the illuminated silhouettes of the three people they wanted to see the least; Sora, Riku, and Kairi. In the forefront stood Riku, brandishing his Keyblade; Way to the Dawn. Axel and Roxas instantly separated, scrambling away from each other to assume more dignified battle-ready positions. Axel's flaming chakram appeared from his palms, the fire casting a brilliant red glow, the tongues of fire lapping harmlessly around his wrists.

"Here to ruin our party, are you?" Axel asked sarcastically.

Kairi stepped forward, a light frown the only blemish on her moonlit face. "We only want Roxas back." Roxas this, Roxas that. Axel had heard it all before. In the end, he finally got Roxas back and there they were, oblivious to his struggles and pain, concerned only with their own agendas. Was he destined to never be happy as a Nobody? Was his time doing Xehanort's experiment all a waste?

No. Losing his humanity had been only an affirmation of its existence.

"I may not be human like you. I may have lost so much. But I would have never felt so alive had I never known Roxas."

Roxas instantly eased up from his tense position when he heard the works Axel had spoken. He was really that important to him? His heart swelled with love but he was still uneasy inside. Roxas had, after all, suggested only moments before merging with Sora again. Seeing him there, he couldn't have felt so threatened, though.

"You can't!" Roxas cried, rushing in front of Axel, throwing out his arms. "You can't take him away from me!"

Although Sora and Kairi looked shocked, Riku remained unfazed. He took only a second to glance back at Sora. Upon seeing his worried expression, he did a double-take. He didn't have to ask him what was wrong.

"But we have to," Sora said.

Roxas hung his head. "I know."

Riku twirled the blade in his palm and began to run forward, the Keyblade's winged edge pointed directly at Axel and Roxas. If a key could contain them, then a key could undo them.

"Roxas, move! Let me go!"

Roxas remained still. "I can't. I love you."

Axel hadn't the chance to move him himself. He had no way of jumping aside. Way to the Dawn pierced easily through them both; sinking evenly into their middles. Roxas' shoulders slumped and he wrapped his fingers around the Keyblade. Axel vanished behind him in a flurry of black smoke, a ghosted "I love you" left lingering in the midnight air. Roxas followed soon after, a faint smile on his pale lips.

Sighing, Riku hoisted his Keyblade up over his shoulder; a dissatisfied sort of grimace graced his lips. "I sure hope that worked." Kairi was relieved at least to know that it was all over. Their recent events had been a little more than stressful for her. Sora, on the other hand, wasn't looking too good. His eyes slipped closed and he fell face-forward into the sand.

"Sora…?" Kairi wheeled around and gasped, drawing Riku's attention.

Riku ran over to where he knelt beside him and, after checking him out, decided that he'd simply passed out from the reconnection.

Gently, Riku ran his fingers through Sora's hair. "You'll be just fine, hmm, Sora?"

Author's Notes: Sorry, I know it took me quite a while to finally get around to writing this chapter. I bet that some of you will have mixed feelings on that as an ending. Here's my consolation to you: there's going to be an epilogue. So don't worry. I'll be leaving you with another entertaining twist. Thanks to all who've been reading!


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